slide 1 the basque country - languages.dk · slide 1 the basque country good morning ladies and...
TRANSCRIPT
Slide 1 The Basque Country
Good morning ladies and gentlemen,
1. First of all I would like to
thank you all for the
opportunity which you have
given us to come here to talk
about the Basque Language and the Basque Language Normalisation
process.
2. We love talking about our language to people who may very well
understand this, and it is human to enjoy speaking about that what one
likes. So we sincerely, thank you very much for wanting to listen to us.
3. In my presentation I will cover three different aspects: First of all I’ll
present an overall perspective of the Basque Country in relation to the
Basque Language, then I’ll go to the official efforts and programmes
developed by the Basque Government (which is the Government of the
Basque Autonomous Community) to help in the process of the
Normalisation of the Basque Language and to finish with I’ll refer to
the HNP (School Programmes for the Normalisation of the Basque
Language), which is what I do at the moment, and being my speciality, I
expect that you will only ask me questions about this third section
(¿Wouldn’t it be very embarrassing to come to Wales and not be able
to answer your questions?).
Slide 2 The Basque Community
I will refer to the Basque Community
whenever I talk about the whole group of
the Basques. This Community shares the
same language, habits, uses, law (in the
past and some peculiarities in the present),
although from the geographical and administrative point of view they do not
conform a unity.
We find three Basque areas, the IPARRALDEA (or the continental Basque
Country) which territorially belongs to the French State, NAVARRA (the
Charter Community of Navarra) with its own government and territorially
belonging to the Spanish State, and the Basque Autonomous Community
BAC, and whenever I refer to the Basque Government I will be talking about
the government of the BAC which, at the present day, governs only this area
of the Basque Community.
Slide 3 The distribution of Basque Speakers
But as you may see, the natural (or
unnatural if we take into account what the
Spanish and French States have done
against/concerning our language)
distribution of the Basque Speakers does not understand political or
administrative differences. Throughout the Basque Community we may
differ three areas: 1. one where the density of Basque Speakers is higher
than that of the non Basque speakers, 2. another one where the number of
Basque speakers is very low (lower than 5% of the inhabitants) and 3. the
one between the previous two, which is called the interlingual area.
Slide 4 Types of bilingualism in the Basque Community But what do we mean when we say that the
population is competent in a language?
If we consider the whole population, we may
see that 70 % are Spanish or French
monolingual, that means that they do not know the Basque Language. Then
we find 1 % of the population who is Basque monolingual, which means that
they are the only ones who may preserve the purity of the language in its
“original” form. And then the remaining 29 % are bilinguals, which means
that they use Basque together with another language (Spanish and French
mostly), and 8 % of those are passive, which means that they may understand
but do not use it, so we can estimate that 21% of the population are actually
bilingual . Among this bilingual group we may find 3 possible bilingual
combinations: 40 % has the Basque language as a L2, 29% are balanced
bilinguals and 32 % have had the Basque language as L1 and feel more
confident in Basque than in Spanish or French.
Slide 5 TThhee UUssee tthhee BBaassqquuee SSppeeaakkeerrss mmaakkee ooff tthhee BBaassqquuee LLaanngguuaaggee aatt hhoommee aanndd wwiitthh ffrriieennddss But even among those who have the Basque
language as their mother tongue, and who feel
more competent and confident in the Basque
language, for different reasons (the language is not normalised) do not use the
Basque language all the time , and in this slide we may see the use they make
of the language at home and with their friends, which are basically the
situations where the language is used most frequently.
Slide 6 BBaassqquuee ssppeeaakkeerrss ccoommppaarreedd ttoo ttoottaall ppooppuullaattiioonn
Those are the approximate figures of the Basque
speaking population for the whole of the Basque
Region.
Slide 7 The Basque Autonomous Community
Until now I have been referring to the Basque
Community, the 7 provinces or counties, but
from now on I will limit my references to the
Basque Autonomous Community (BAC)
which is located to the southwest of the Pyrenees, to the west of Navarre and
is made up of the three provinces: Araba, Biscay and Gipuzkoa which form
together the area known as the BAC.
I will limit my references to this area only because I work for the Basque
Autonomous Government, which exercises its powers only in this area and
from now on, all the calls for applications and all the official programmes that
I may mention (with a few exceptions) are operative in the BAC.
Total Population Nº Basque Speakers
% Basque Speakers
BCA 2,104,041 543,617 26.3
ARABA 272,447 22,995 8.6
BISCAY 1,155,106 215,219 18.9
GIPUZKOA 676,488 105.403 45.9
Here as well we can see big differences between the provinces and from one town or village to the others. The orange ones are those where more than 80% of the population speak Basque, in the rose areas, between 50 and 80%, in the white ones between 24 and
50%, in the green ones between 14 and 24 %, and in the blue ones less than 5 %.Slide
8 The Basque Government
The Basque Government of the Autonomous
Community has got different Departments,
but concerning the language policies two of
those must be mentioned: the Secretariat-
General for Language Policy and the Department of Education.
The Secretariat-General for Language Policy, created in 1983, is integrated
into the Department of Culture and is responsible for overseeing both corpus
and status planning aspects of language policy in the BAC. In particular, it is
responsible for guidelines for civil servant Basquisation, data collection,
funding and monitoring many corpus and status activities, many of which they
organize linked to or in coordination with the Dep. of Education.
The Department of Education that has been especially active in reversing the
language shift (RLS). Integrated in the Dept. of Education we find the Basque
Service, created in 1981 and which has its own subdivisions for the different
programmes it carries out: EIMA, NOLEGA, IRALE.
Next I will refer to those and I would like you to remember that they are
subdivisions of the Dept. of Education and the Basque Service body).
Slide 9:
The Spanish constitution of 1978 declared that Spaniards must know
Spanish and that they have the right to use it and it also added that each
regional community could declare its local language official, thus
implying the right of those communities to regulate its use. In 1979 the
BAC (as well as Navarra in 1982) declared Basque to be an official
language.
In 1982 the Law for the Normalization of the Basque Language was signed, and
among other individual rights it includes the citizen’s right to choose the language
in education, in dealings with the administration and with the courts. The
administration is obliged to offer bilingual services.
A community that wants to foster the process of normalization of the minority
language may use different measures to do it, but we would all agree that education,
which is open to the whole population under a certain age, is one of the most
democratic measures. Those who have the minority language as their mother tongue
can acquire literacy, and those who have a different L1 and want to acquire this L2
have the opportunity to do it.
The Basque Administration offers three bilingual teaching streams: (1) Stream A
Spanish medium teaching with Basque language classes . 3-4 hours per week, (2)
Stream B Spanish and Basque medium teaching with Spanish and Basque classes,
(3) Stream D Basque medium teaching with Spanish language classes.
Although originally these streams were thought to be appropriate for the different
sociolinguistic groups, it has been proved that models A and B (if the Basque
language is not strengthened) do not offer enough input for the students, who belong
to non Basque families and environments, to acquire the necessary minimal level of
competence in the Basque language, and that’s why over time parents have
increasingly demanded stream D in the belief that it provides their children with the
best opportunity of a level of input which will lead them to master the language. To
ensure a suitable level of input I streams A and B, techniques for reinforcing the use
of the language are highly desirable.
But for an administration to offer a bilingual education, it needs to have some
resources at hand
Human resources
A bilingual system had in its origin the problem of the shortage of teachers capable of
working in the new school language. At the end of the 70s, only 5% of the primary school
teachers felt capable of teaching in Basque. Last year’s estimations talk about 58 % (72 %
of primary school civil servants, and 50 % of the teachers that belong to the private sector)
of the teachers having met the language requirement (EGA, EH2 or similar). It is obvious
that in the last 20 years there has been a substantial evolution in the language skills of the
teachers. In this respect the Dept. of Education set up originally the IRALE programme
both for the Basquisation of the Spanish civil servant, and for the Basque speaking teachers
to acquire the necessary literacy. Nowadays IRALE is still in force and although the
number of teachers who may need the language requirement has decreased, it has been
adapted to new necessities: post-proficiency levels, technical language, quality, propagating
new norms of the Royal Academy of the Basque Language, and so on.
But the language formation of a teacher does not conclude with the knowledge of the
language. Teachers need training in Basque and in the topic they are going to teach and this
aspect is the aim of the GARATU programme.
School materials
Not less important than the Basquisation of the teachers is the necessity for school materials
or aids in the Basque language. The EIMA programme to subsidize the publication of
school materials in Basque was initially designed only for printed materials (EIMA I) . The
programme was subsequently expanded to include the publication of audiovisual materials
(EIMA II) and of educational software (EIMA III). More recently, a new line of grants for
work-groups preparing materials has been set up (EIMA IV).
The volume of production in Basque is limited but enough. Every year 250 textbooks are
printed in Basque, 100 audiovisual productions and 50 software materials.
Use of language/ NOLEGA programmes
After the Law for the Normalization of the Use of the Basque Language came into force in
1984, the Dept. of Education promoted the NOLEGA programme with two aims:
(1) The Basquisation of the educational administration and (2) the Basquisation of the
school environment. The present activities of this programme include:
1. short stay residential centres for primary and the first two years for compulsory
secondary school pupils of Basque –EGE, EGB
2. grants to schools to promote theatre, choral singing, the performance of sung verse
in the traditional style (which is an interesting piece of our culture –optional
Bertsolaritza CD).- KANTAGINTZA, BERTSOGINTZA, ANTZERKIGINTZA,
IRRATIGINTZA (All those very useful to promote the use and quality of colloquial
language).
3. visits by authors of Basque books to schools
4. use of Basque language films in teaching activities -TINKO
5. other extra-curricular and out of school activities, including short stay residential
centres, exchanges between schools from different sociolinguistic areas…
6. annual prize contests for prose, poetry (URRUZUNO) and elocution (BARRIOLA)
7. promotion of the normalization of the use of Basque language within schools- I will
return later to this programme.
Slide 10: Measures to Foster the use of Basque, and statistics of the participants.
This very varied group of activities mobilizes large
numbers of schoolchildren. It is important to know that
schools take part voluntarily in these activities. The
financial help or the grants that they get are by no
means enough to carry out the whole activity, they may
be enough for 50 % or less in some cases, the rest of the money is paid by other means or
with the help from other institutions like Town Halls, Parents Associations, etc.
We are conscious that the Basque input a child gets in the school is very important for the
Basquisation of the child, but it would be naïve to think that that is enough when talking
about a minority language. Many of our school children do not have any other contact with
the Basque language apart from what they get in the school setting. So there are many other
local official and unofficial efforts to amplify the Basquisation process after school hours:
Parents association activities and activities promoted by the town halls (UEMA), AEK,
HABE…
As school teachers come to realise that these initiatives pursue the same objectives as
themselves with regard to the Basquisation of the children, there is an increasing number of
connections and relationships between school teachers and the local associations.
HNP. School projects for the Normalization of the use of Basque Language.
After 14 years of experience with all those different activities and with different partial
school initiatives, the Dept. of Education in 1996 called for an experiment with
comprehensive normalization plans in schools. Originally 23 schools took part in this pilot
programme, and seeing the values of those comprehensive plans, the next school year
1997/98 there was an open call for schools to participate, in the so called ULIBARRI
programme. In this following year, 246 schools took part in the project, and in the next
school year a further call was made and another 109 schools were added to the previous
number.
At the present time, 305 schools with 128.763 students participate in this initiative.
Let me explain now how a school Ulibarri programme works, from the very beginning until
the utopic target of complete normalization.
Slide 11:Ulibarri Programme
The school projects for the Normalization of the use of the
Basque Language, received originally the name of HNP, but this
name was changed and nowadays they are the ULIBARRI
programmes
Slide 12: An Ulibarri Programme
The aim of any Ulibarri programme is the normalization of the
Basque Language within the school setting.
A school takes part voluntarily in this programme when the
whole community are willing to participate.
It may include all the calls and resources promoted by NOLEGA
All Ulibarri programmes begin with a diagnosis of the components in which it is desired
to intervene
Slide 13: General Information
The different components of the programme are the various
school sections connected to the Language Normalization
Where the school community chooses to participate in this
programme, a specific teacher is made responsible for the overall coordination and
promotion of the use of Basque
A team of area coordinators provide support and guidelines to that teacher, together with
the personnel of NOLEGA and the University of the Basque Country.
In compensation his/her class-load is reduced (3, 6 or 9 hours) depending on the size of
the school.
Slide 14: The Diagnosis of the School
All Ulibarri programmes begin with a diagnosis
of the school situation in relation to the Basque Language
Normalization
The components under diagnosis are:
The school administration-linguistic scenery
The teachers –knowledge/use
The students –knowledge/use
The parents –knowledge/use
The library
After school activities
The Town and the local environment
Slide 15: After the diagnosis
The results are analysed by a group of teachers together with
the coordinator or HNTechnician
Once they have reached some decisions, they prepare an
individualized programme to intervene in some of the
components which have been diagnosed and analysed.
This individualized programme conforms with the Normalization Programme of the
School or the Ulibarri Programme which will be revised every year, but which will be in
force for 5 or 6 years.Slide 16: Iñaki Arruti’s graph
This graph done by Iñaki Arruti, a Basque Technician at a
Town Hall,
represents the effects of different elements in the life of a
person
We must look at this before making any plan or programme, because it shows that
education is very important, and can do a good job, but it is only 1/3 of the lives of the
students.
Moreover we must be aware of another factor: there are two axis: a dynamic axis (students
and parents who after a certain number of years leave the school) and a stable axis
(administration, official documents, teachers, combination of languages…, which stay in
force longer). All the interventions made in the dynamic axis are only temporary for the
school (in a sense) and all the interventions made in the stable axis are fixed for longer.
Slide 17: In an Ulibarri Programme we specify:
Objectives /Activities / Methodology/ Responsibilities
/Assessment: When/how
Administration / Teachers / StudentsParents / Combination of
Languages/ After school activities / Town and
environmentSlide 18: Administration
Possible activities:
To write all the papers and reports in the Basque Language
To do financial accounts in Basque
To change all the software of the computers so that they are in
the Basque Language.
To write letters to parents or other associations only in Basque and bilingually for those
who do not understand it
To write all school documents in Basque.
To present bilingual signs: toilets, way out…
Slide 19: Teachers
To use the Basque language in their formal and non-formal
relationships between colleagues and with students and parents.
To show interest in the Basque language and culture
To take part in different post-proficiency courses
To introduce Basque culture in their curricula
To be a member of the Ulibarri Programme
To motivate the students towards the Basque culture
To be active in any of the NOLEGA activities
Slide 20: Students
Most of the activities in schools concentrate on this component and
they are usually those offered by NOLEGA.
There are six sorts of activities:MOTIVATION / KNOWLEDGE /
USE
PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS /SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
Slide 21: Parents
Activities with parents vary in relation to the area where the
school may be located
Motivation- Explain the importance of their help in the Basque
learning process of their children
Use:
Send them all reports and letters in Basque
Ask them to motivate their children to take part in activities that promote the
Basque language.
Ask for their help in controlling the TV-channels they
watch more often....
Knowledge: Take part in Basque lessons.
Use the Basque language at home.
Take part in some school activities
Slide 22: Combination of Languages
The law for the normalization of the use of Basque
(1982), states in the 15th article:
The right of all students to be taught either in Basque or
Spanish at the different educational levels is recognised. To
this effect, the parliament and the government will adopt those measures necessary which
will tend towards the progressive generalisation of bilingualism in the educational system
of the ACBC.
The law establishes that students have the right to be bilingual at the end of their
secondary education. To ensure this in the Basic Curricular Decree (1986), the Dept. of
Education establishes the minimum number of lessons in Basque and Spanish each
student has the right to get in either of the previously mentioned models (A, B, D).
Apart from both official languages, students learn a third (and sometimes fourth)
language, beginning at the early age of 4. And students must acquire a certain level of
competence.
If a school wishes to teach 3 or 4 languages, then it is necessary to plan the progressive
introduction of each one, and to combine them appropriately to fulfil the minimum
objectives the Dpt. of Education establishes as compulsory.
Slide 23: After School activities
Nowadays it is very common to see students participating
in some extra after school activities which take place, very
often, in the rooms, sport-halls and playgrounds of the
school.
Sports and music are the most common activities and they are very often done in Spanish.
Not on purpose but because of the lack of sensitivity to the Basque normalization process
and could be easily changed into Basque.
In these after school activities it is very appropriate to use the non-formal language, which
is often out of place in the classroom, and as the students feel very motivated with the
activity, this enthusiasm may also be transmitted to the language in which it is taught.
Slide 24: Town/Village/ Environment
Educational measures, schools do not guarantee the
continuity of their work. We can nor expect solutions
that come only from education. Schools need the help
of the family-neighbourhood-environment. The Reversal of the threatened
language shift can not be done only with educational measures... (Joshua
Fishman)
VARIABLES WITH MORE WEIGHT OVER THE USE OF THE LANGUAGE1.
The density of Basque speakers in the own relationship-net
2. The competence one has to talk in Basque and in other languages3. The
density of Basque speakers in the village or town where one lives
4. Interest, motivation and attitudes towards the Basque language and culture
COOPERATION AMONG THE DIFFERENT LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS
UEMA
Sport clubs /cultural associations/ Town Hall / School /...
Slide 25: Possible Structure of a Town/Village
This could be the possible structure of a town /village
cooperation among all the local associations that are involved or
show interest in the normalization of the Basque Language in the
town/village.
Here we may include The Town Hall / the schools / the parents associations / cultural
associations / sport clubs / other schools or academies where Basque is taught / the local
shops/ the local library /…